The Choices We Make

A/N

(Hey Guys! Axx here! I've kinda been taking a break from writing for a while, and been more of a lurker for a bit. During my creepy ass lurking, I got the inspiration for this story. Surprisingly, while there are stories of Ace and Luffy going after Sabo *Cough Cough* Finding Sabo *Cough Cough*, and stories about Ace and Sabo going after Luffy *Cough Cough* Bonds Of Sea and Fire *Cough Cough* Read them both, highly recommended, *Cough Cough*. Also since I'm recommending, Searching for A Saviour also deserves my love. Anyways, I have yet to find a story with Sabo and Luffy going after Ace. So I was like screw it Imma do this myself. And I threw in the Whitebeards because I have a mild obsession. Anyways, Enjoy!

-Axx)

"Sir! We have arrived at Dawn island."

Groaning at the interruption of his nap, the man ran a hand through his thick, black curly hair. Moving his hand down, he pulled his sleep mask off his face, instead moving it upwards to rest on his forehead.

"Yeah Yeah. Dock near the forest, let's get this over with."

"Yes Sir!"

Aokiji was now standing up. Facing the island, his expression unreadable. 'So this is it huh? ….The home of Roger's son.'

~Earlier~

"Listen Aokiji. I know this may be a lot to ask from you, but you're one of the only ones I can trust with this."

"Hmm?"

One eyebrow raised at the sudden request, Aokiji followed Sengoku into his office, away from any listening ears. Sengoku sat down at his desk with a sigh, while Aokiji stood relatively close, arms crossed, waiting for further information. With another sigh Sengoku looked up at him, eyes hard as he spoke.

"Now. As I assume, you remember the late Pirate King, Gold Roger?"

"Of course."

The fleet admiral took a breath before he continued, as if the topic bothered him to talk about.

"We have received new intel confirming the possibility of a child… His child to be exact."

Aokiji eyes widened for a slight second, but quickly returned back to his normal neutral expression.

"And how do I fit into this picture Sengoku?"

"Listen Aokiji. I don't want this information spreading around. You're one of the few who I know won't tell a soul. I need you to go and retrieve the child."

The admiral's eyes narrowed.

"What are you going to do with the child afterwards. Condemn him to the same fate as his father?"

"I was going to try to leave this alone, but somehow Akainu found out. That man," Sengoku shook his head. "He will definitely kill the kid if we don't do anything, regardless if the child is innocent or not."

"And your solution?"

"...Imprisonment. It's neutral ground decided upon. It may not be the best solution, but at least the kid will be alive for a while, and it will buy us more time till we try to figure something out."

"I don't know about this Sengoku. I have a bad feeling."

"Me too, but this is the best course of action for now. I need you to trust me Kuzan."

The two stared at each other for a moment, before they reached mutual agreement. Aokiji nodded his head, before turning to leave.

"I'll be leaving now then. I'll take a small ship and crew to assist."

~Back to Just Arrived Aokiji~

"Admiral Aokiji! We've just received word that The Celestial Dragons are visiting this island this week."

"Hmm. The Celestial Dragons huh?" He shrugged "It should be fine as long as we stay clear of them."

Not really concerned, the admiral took three men with him while the other two stayed with the ship. He hadn't got much information about Roger's kid, so his search would have to cover the entire island. He sighed. 'What a pain.'

-Timeskip-

It was his second day on the island when the fire happened. He had searched most of the island already, so possible areas where this kid could be were quickly diminishing. He began to wonder if the Intel was even correct. He found himself sometimes hoping it wasn't. He was in the forest when he saw the smoke.

"Admiral Aokiji…"

"Let's go."

The marines had quickly found their way to the source of the smoke, and were horrified with what they found.

"What the hell?!"

The vast trash heap that once had so many inhabitants was now a fiery inferno. 'Shit!' Aokiji began running into the fire.

"Go help anyone you can!"

"Yes Sir!"

The admiral began using his ice to try clearing paths for the previously presumed doomed trapped victims. He was met with much tears and gratitude as those he managed to help disappeared into the forest. He used his haki to try to sense any more survivors. He sensed a group. He almost made it to them, when he felt it.

-With Ace-

"LUFFY!"

His eyes clenched tight, he did the only thing he could manage to do. He screamed. He screamed for his brother, he screamed for himself, he screamed for their lives. His eyes shot open when he found himself released. His stormy grey eyes widened as he looked around him. The Bluejam pirates were collapsing one by one onto the ground, not getting up. All that remained was a very confused and angry Bluejam.

"Oi! You guys! Stop playing around! OI! CAN YOU IDIOTS HERE ME?! GET UP THIS INSTANT!"

When he saw his crewmates weren't moving, his attention and anger turned to be directed at Ace.

"YOU BRAT! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Ace barely got into a fighting stance when Bluejam lunged for him. He managed to get one hit on the larger man, before he found himself pinned on the ground. 'Shit! Luffy!' He slowly turned his head, anger and guilt rising when he saw his beloved brother's bloody form on the floor, staring at him in horror. He then turned back to the pirate above him. He did the only thing he could manage at that point, he glared, continuing what little struggling he could manage. If he was going to die, he wanted to go out fighting till his last breath!

"DIE BRAT!"

"ACE!"

Ace waited for the impact that never came. He opened his eyes, widening at what he saw.

"DADAN?!"

"YOU! NO ONE HURTS MY BRATS! MAGRA! GET THE IDIOT BRATS AND GET OUT OF HERE!"

Ace immediately stood up next to her, refusing to leave her side.

"I'm not leaving you old hag!"

"Watch it brat! Stop being so goddamn stubborn!"

"I never back down from a fight!"

Ace stared at her, eyes filled with determination. His face clearing displaying he wasn't going anywhere without her.

"...Tch. Have it your way brat! Don't blame me if anything happens."

"ACE!"

Ace tried to ignore the cries of his brother as he tuned his focus to the fight. 'Get ready Bluejam! Here I come!'

…

Aokiji waited. He knew that according to his job he should have already gone to help, but as soon as he felt that kid's powerful burst of haki, something compelled him to stay put. The angry child sparked his interest, especially as he didn't back down in the face of danger, as most his age would've done so long before. So he stayed shrouded in the flames, not being damaged due to his ice. His eyes widened when he heard the raven say an all too familiar phrase.

"I never back down from a fight."

A mental picture of a similarly black headed man flashed in his head, clad with a big goofy grin and an old strawhat.

"I never back down from a fight!"

Aokiji sighed, rubbing at his head. This was going to be harder than he thought. The admiral continued to think of the pros and cons of this mission, while also trying to figure out if the kid was even Rogers. One phrase could've been a coincidence. But he did have the haki that not many possessed, his brain reminded him. Sighing again, he looked up, deciding to talk to the child. He blinked when he found them no longer there. He rubbed at his head. 'Oh shit… I lost them.'

~With Lu~

"ACE! GET OFF ME! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!" The little raven continued struggling, fighting to get to the door and back to his brother, to no avail. Several of the bandits held him down, sympathetic looks never leaving their faces.

"Luffy…"

Magra sighed, gazing at the other bandits for help.

"Ace will be fine. Boss' with him. She won't let anything happen to him. I promise. But for now, we need to get you treated… How do you think Ace will feel if he sees you like this?"

The struggling stopped. Owlish brown eyes stared back at him.

"...You promise?"

"I swear it."

~TimeSkip~

Luffy had been left in his room after he had been treated. He was under the instructions to rest, but it more of a suggestion, as even the doctor knew that was unlikely in his current state. So instead Luffy waited, hands gripping his precious hat and wrapped in Ace's old blanket. 'I won't cry.' Clutching his hat, he quivered, trying his hardest to prevent the oncoming tears.'I won't cry!' He repeated again in his head. '

"A-Ace.." He whimpered. 'Don't leave me alone!'.

~TimeSkip~

Luffy woke up confused. He couldn't even remember falling asleep. His hat had fallen off his head onto his hat, and after stopping to stare at it for a moment, he put it back on it's rightful place. He still clutched Ace's blanket in his hand. He looked around, frowning as loneliness tugged at his heart as he still saw no Ace. Then he heard the muffled noises.

"the...left...damn...Ace...Garp...now…-"

'Ace?' Luffy immediately grinned. That was Dadan's voice, and if Dadan was back that must mean- 'Ace!' He dropped the sheet, bolting out of the room with a laugh. He made his way to what the bandits referred to as the living room, otherwise the source of all the noise. The grin never leaving his face. 'Ace will be so proud I stayed strong! Maybe we can go hunting! OOoo! Or go get Sabo! Ace. Sabo. Meat. Ace. Sabo. Mea-'

"WELL WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?"

Luffy stopped as he listened confused. Dadan always yelled, so that was nothing new, but this time her voice sounded… different. Instead of just normal anger, laced with annoyance most of the time, he heard something akin to… sadness? Regret? Peering his head into the room, he watched. His instincts told him not to burst in just yet, and he couldn't tell why, but he felt uneasy. He saw Dadan pacing around the room, bottle in hand, the bandits rushing after her as they tried to calm her down.

"Boss! Calm down, you'll wake Luffy! We need to treat those burns."

Dadan grunted, but sat down anyways as one of the bandits quickly went to treat her many injuries.

"Now Boss, what happened? Where's Ace?"

Dadan glared down at the floor, eyes overcast. She clenched her fists as she gritted through her teeth, hissing out.

"Those damn marines! That's what happened!"

~FlashBack~

After Ace and Dadan had defeated Bluejam, they began heading towards the bandits hut. Unfortunately, Dadan suffered severe burns which slowed them down quite a bit, and complied with the fact the nobles had hired soldiers to make sure no survivors were left, the two were basically stuck. Ace had done his best at hiding them, occasionally risking it and rushing off to get some herbs Makino taught him to soothe pain. But Ace knew that wasn't enough. Dadan needed a doctor, and he could use one himself. He began to curse as he thought of what slim chances they had.

"Ace." Ace immediately turned to Dadan, the anger on his face replaced with worry and slight guilt. He rushed over. "Dadan! You finally woke up. How are you feeling? Are the herbs helping?"

Dadan brushed him off, instead looking him dead in the eye. "Listen Ace. Leave me."

"WH-"

Dadan shushed him. Reminding him people were looking for them. It worked, effectively quitting the raven. Seeing he was about to speak again, Dadan cut him off, earning an annoyed glare from the freckled boy.

"Listen kid. Before you say anything, think of Luffy." Dadan could see she struck a cord as she saw Ace's face twitch. As much as it pained her, she knew using Ace's weakness was the only chance she had of him leaving her.

"He's waiting for you. He needs you Ace. You can't die here. I'm old, I don't have much longer anyway. So listen to me when I saw you need to leave me, it's the only way."

Dadan closed her eyes as she waited for him to agree.

"No."

Her eyes bolted open as she almost choked Ace. She began to whisper yell.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO BRAT?!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!"

"DAMNIT BRAT! DO YOU NEED TO DISAGREE WITH EVERYTHING I SAY!"

A rusting in the leaves turned both their attention. Ace cursed, thinking they were in a place no one would think to look. He didn't have enough time to hide both himself and Dadan in time. He cursed, stress filling him up as he got into a fighting position.

"So, You must be Roger's son huh?"

(And that is it for today folks. Dies. Let me know what you think of this new idea! Did you like it? Or did you want to burn it at the stake. Either way let me know! I really appreciate it! Remember to follow, favorite, review, all that jazz. I have quite a bit of chapter two written so it should be out relatively soon. So keep an eye out! Bye for now!

-Axx)